Can-cooking machine.



l. S. BAKER. CAN'COQKIIG calle APPLICATION FILED Ill. 1!. "l4.

1,250,764 Patented Dec. 18,1917.

3 wins-suit 1.

I. S. BAKER.

CAN COOKING IACNINEL" APPLICATION mm IAI. I9. 1914.

1,250,764. Patented n mmn.

Q SHEETS-SHEET Jaw J. S. BAKER. CAN COOKING MACHINE-- APPLICATION mm in. Is. 19H.

Patented Dec. 18 1917.

7 3 SHEETS-SHED 3- ZZZ-0R9. 7 V

J Y'T h v I I To all whom it may concern: 1 Be.v it-k nownwthat I, Join:

' UNITED strains PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN s. new, canes meenasleatmonnu;assxoivon, BY MESNE' assmmrenrs, TO enhansox-nmoaovaR use. too; or sax JOSE, camronnra, a conrona'uox S. Blame. It

citizen of the Unitcd States, residing at Los Angelica in the county of 'Ange'les and State: f Californi ave. invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Coolr in 'Machines; and I hereby declare that f o lowing is aiull, clear, andexaet descripa .tion thereof; reference being had to 'the ac- I coinpanying drawings, which form part'of this specification.

f This invention relates to machinery. ,for

treating ackaged i goods and is especially adapted or useginz'sterilizingand cooking foods. containcdiiin ordinary cylindrie cans; I and the object of the inventlon-ls Itoproduce a' cooker wherein the packagesor canscan be caused totravel-greater or distances through the cooking cham IJ OIIif. desired aplurality of seri esof suchpaekagesmaybe simultaneously moved through the cooking chamber.

More specific obje ts ofvthefinventicn are to providea pathway n the-icobkingljcham ii her and means whereli pack'agesarray-be 'moved for grea'ter on ess distancesalongp such path betweenth'ejpoint of ejntryi and d,is chnrgc; to provide means whereby if de-, shed a plurahty of series of packages may r be-movedsimultaneously along different por- I v tionsof-such patl \\;ay, 'so thattwo or more fcooks ean be performed "at the same-time s in the same cooking chamber and whereby also. 'itr 'wi ll be possibleto perform'p'simu different lengths of time forftreatznentt, 9

It is well known-that different kinds of ofgoods, simuitaneol'lsly.- These several diftaneously tw or or more cooks requiring canned f-foods require different lengths of 1 timetfdr 'properg eookin Or jtieatm naandmy invention w1ll 'G I1& 'l8 the same appa- Qratus" tobe utilized for treating difierent' kinds ofi goods and also t for treating or cooking two or more seriespi packages eontaining the same'kind of goods slmultane ously 1n the apparatus; and also for treatingor cooking two orrmore difl'erent kinds fcrent operations and novel and useful capabilities of operation of asingle apparatus are accomplished in my invention which, specifically speaking, comprises a preferably 1 Bpeelnca'tlen of Letters 2min. Application mammals, 1914. were. sauuf thereof. The invention -further includes a tances a on said athway; and by employfem cooiime maoiima.

Patented Dec. 18, 191 7,

so-called spiral pathway and a plurality of feed devices whereby packages may be introduced onto said pathway at difierent points plurality of delivering devices whereby the packagesmay be discharged from said path mg a plum ity o feeds and a plurality'of discharges the utility of: the apparatus is greatly enhanced, as it enablestwo or more cooks to be simultaneously performed in the same chamber, and each cook? iretainedtherein for the desired length of time,

by feeding ackages containing different goods to di erent points of 'the pathway,

and discharging the difierent cooks at different points.

' The details (if construction of the feeding and delivering devices and of the pathway means for moving ackages along such way are subordinate to t e rincipalfeatures of the invention; and in t e accompanying drawings I have illustrated apparatus which "embodies the invention, and a description of which will enable those familiar with the artto construct and use the invention.

fl will explain the a paratns illustrated in gsuch drawings, and t en sumintfarize in the claims the-essential features 0 '-the inveni" tion, and novel details and combinations 0 parts hereinafter referred to, for which protection is desired. l

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a top'plan view of a preferred fo'rm of apparatus partly broken away.

Fig. 21s alongltudinal'vertical section Fig. 3 is a detail transverse section on line 3-3, Fig. 1. l i

Fig. 4; is an enlarged detail sectionalview of the feed devices shown'in Figs. 1 and 2.,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the 100 delivery devices shown in Figs. 1 and .2.

. Referring to said drawings, 1 designates a tank or treating or cooking chamber which is referably substantially closed and is ordlnaril made of metal. The particular form an size of such tank can be varied to suit the builder, and according to the desired total capacity of the machine.

Withln this tank is a preferably spiral pathway for packagllzs, which may be'formed of a series of T-s aped bars,which have up r and lower horizontal runs 2 and 2' an curved end portions 2 connecting the upper runs 2 with the lower runs 2", as shown in the drawings. Underneath the lower runs of the athway are flat bars 2 which keep the pee ages on the lower runs of the athway while the T-bars guide the cans. he said bars-may be attached to transverse bars 1', 1", secured within the tank 1 This general construction of pathway is specifically old and well understood in the art and isnot per se claimed herein; and such pathway. is practically a tends through long spiral. The packages orcans ma be caused to'traverse this spiral pathway rom ne end th re f to the other by means f pusher bars 3 extending transversely across the series of runs of the pathway and connected at their outer ends to endlem chains 3 running over sprockets 3" attached to transverm shafts 3 at the op osite ends of the tank. Said shafts may e driven, by suitable gearing, substantially as indicated in the drawings, so as to cause the chains'to move the pusher bars laterally through the spirals, and cause them to push the packages along said spiral pathway in a well known manner. Such pusher bars and mechanism for operating same are not specifically claimed herein and need no further explanation, and will be readily understood bythose familiar with the art.

At the receiving end of the tank are' arranged a plurality of package feeding devices, which may be of any suitable'constru'ction; I have shown three such feeds in the.

parat'us illustrated in the drawings, 1n

, w ich the spiral pathway has about six'complete spirals; and the first feed A delivers cans to the first run of the spir'al path-Way; the second feed B delivers ,cans to the third run of the pathway; and the third feed (J delivers cans to the fifth runoff said path-- way. The feeding devices may be con struc'ted alike and the d'escriptiom of-t'liose shown in Figs. 1-4 will explainthe others,

similar the feeds g similarly lettered.

For simplicity 1 will describe the machine fdif'ferent periods of-. t1me',' assuming .the

as adapted to handle canned goods, But

. As shown I run of the part wa of the machine to a in the canway, as in adjaeentthe upper S-"a chute 5" which (r-x isuitable opening in the end:

oin't adjacent one end of the upper run of the pathway so that cans placed on said chute 5 may roll down and into said canway and be caught bycne of the pusher bars and moved on along said pathway, see Fig. 3. The can may be fed onto this chute. 5 by hand, or by an endless conv'eyer 5'' working in a trough 5'. into which trougg cans or packages may be fed by hand or delivered from a filling, packaging or exhausting machine, not shown, in the usual manner. Preferably I provide a controlling device for regulating the feed of the cans to the canway from chute 5. such device, as shown, comprisesa lever 5" adjacent the canway and having a forked head- 5' which when the lever is m the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4 will arrest the can at the inner end of the chute 5; but when the lever is in the position indicated in dotted lines in F ig. -l will permit a can to drop into the pathway. lVhen head 5 is in the position shown in full lines, Fig. 4, the inner fork arrests the innermost can on the chute 5 and when the lever is in the position shown in dotted lines Fig. 4 the inner can is discharged onto the pathway and the outer prong arrests the next incoming can on said chute; thus as the lever is vibrated cans are successively delivered onto the pathwa The'le'ver o may be, operated automaticaliy by having cam 5" which extends into the nth of the usher bar 3, so that as these ars approac the chute 5 they engage the cam 5" of the lever and rock the same against the action of a spring 5 interposed between the lever and the adjacent wall of the tank, as shown' so that the lever is swung in one direction by the pusher bars and in the opposite direction by the spring. Each'time the lever.5 is rocked by a pusher bar, a can is delivered onto the pathway in advance of the pusherbar; and thus cans will be successively fedin proper position to the can way. A curved guard plate 2 ma be ar ranged over the pathway adjacent t e inner ffing properly onto the pathway when they h ay larly constructed feed mechanism ,Inay? be end. of the chute 53 to insure the cans mov-Z arranged, asstatedi at other desired points I icated Fig. I, atA, B, C. It willbc obvious that if an apparatushaving three feeds hadb'ut one terminal dis charge cans or packages could be passed through such machinefor either of three pusher ba-rs 3 to always traveled at a uniform rate of s e'ed; i. 0., if (ads were. fed t (3 theywoul have about one-jliird the len 11 of time'and travel that they would if ed at A; if they were fed at B they would have two thirds the length oftime I 50 irected with the side walls of the tank, so

thatthe latter can be fille and travel that they would if fed at A; thus in such a machine with three feeds and one delivery any one of three different: kinds of treatments or cooks might be obtained. In order-to increase the etliciency of the machine and enable more than one kind of treatment or cook to be performed at one time, I pro ose to use a plurality of discharges an I have shown three discharges in the rawi at a, b, a, respectively,

Preferably, in the machine shown, discharge a is arranged at the end of the second coil of :the canwayfdischarge I) at the end of the fourth coil of the eanway; and discharge-e "at the-end of the-sixth coil of the canway; the length of the canway, and

locations of the feed and deliveriesbeing of course merely illustrative and not definitive. Thesewdischarge mechanisms in the ap'para' tus shown in Figs; '1 5 are constructed alike, and the description of one will describe'all, similar parts being similarly letbelted; but other discharge mechanisms might be substituted for those shown in the drawings, within the scope of the invention.

In the construction shown in Figs; 1 to 5 ad'acent the end of the machine opposite the eed and extendin transversely .throu h the machine below tie upper runs of tie ,30

pathway,'is a trough 9, through which runs an endless conveyer 9 passin over sprockets gear Won the shaft of one of the sprockets 9 meshing with a inion 9' on ae shaft 9 opera-' tivelyconnec with the driving shaft 12 as indieatedjn Fig.1, which shaft 12 may be driven in any suitable manner; and from which the other operativepartsmay be driven by suitable means which form no art of the present inventioniand being well known-need not be describedherein.

This discharge trough 9f is'pfieferably lo- .cated below the upper run of the carrier as shown, and should be water-tightly con- (1 with water up tothedesired level. V

hove the trough 9" the flanges of the bars? of the. upper runs of the pathway areinotched as at '2" so that when a can or package reaches this point it can drop bygravity through; such notches 2 into the and be discharged. of -the cans can be controlled by means of slidet.2 lying in-the bottom of thecanway supported upon the fiangesrof the adjacent bars Q see Figs. 1, 3 and4; and each slide is normally projected into. position to close the related opemngby means of a contrac:

rackets at't e fsidesof the :tank at each endof the trough then passing .down beneath 'the tank around suitable The discharge tile spring 2 connected to the slide and to the side of the trough, as in Fig. 3. The slides 2 may be retracted to uncover thenotches and permit the dropping of runs into the trough by means of cables 2" at tached to the slides and extended to the outside of the machine where they may be provided with rings 2" adapted to be hooked on pins 2* on the side of the tank. In Fig. 1 of the drawin s I have shown the discharges open. hen a discharge is opened 7 the cans traveling in the pathway will fall by gravity into the trough when they reach such discharge.-=and .will be moved h the conveyer 9" outp'fizhe trough to a suitable receiver. 'llhe operator can easily control any discharge from the side'of the machine.-

- When he desires to open a discharge he pulls the related cable 2 and fastens its ring 2" to the related pin-2" and thus uncovers one ofthe notches 2" and tensions the springQ. When he desires to close a discharge be simpl'yreleases the cable and the s ring immediately causes""jthe slide to close the notches-and the ctinspass on and along the pathway to the first ,open discharge.

To enable the operator to determine when -he' can open or -close a discharge without having to uncover or go into the machine I preferably.provide an indicator adjacent each-discharge-opening; this indicator may be made of a light inetatstrap 'o'r rod bent approximately into-L-shape and hav-in r its long arm 15 pivoted within the casing a eye the pathwayas' shown at lo'and itsshort arm 15f .p'roj'ecti ng outwardlyj-tlirou h openings in the" top of the machine a ove;;th'e' pathway, and atthe bend of the indicator is a downwardly curved portion 15 which lies above the pathway and is adapted't rest upon the packages passin thereunder; and as the packages move unc ertlie indicator it will be vih'iated; being raised by the PEtC-k': ages as they ass thereunder and dropping b ravity. he indicator is positioned atf such a distance from the discharge opening-1 that" when the Fart '15 islowered theoper -n' atorknows tha a can is notatf the-(li 3l 1-l3s opening; but .\'vhen the indicator r ses he ig he- .115,

knows a fan is. at the discharge 'o'peni leiefole' shift the "slideycontrolling 'shouldt the-disc urge when *the'tlever is lowered; such sh tn'n .canbe done instantly 'so that no on slidefx -1. i It will lie-seen that the invention is not limitedto any particular construction of feeding "and delivering devices; nor to any particular construction of the pathway. The utility of the invention and the great flexibility of the --apparatus constructed in accordance 'theii-ewit lris' ObVllOuS,.lLI1d when treating goo srequiri on a ve short time in the cooker "or ch fmbei the agaratus 7 shown can handle 'about three times the 130 a williie caught .hy th'eishifting f the a stantially steam-tight.

It will be seen from the fortfo ing de-I scription that cans can be fed at and discharged at u, h, or c; they can be fed at B and discharged eat I), c; or can be fed at,C aml discharged at c; and also that cans may be sinmltaneously fed at. A and discharged at u or I); while simultaneously cans can be fed to C and discharged at 0' also cans can be. fed at-A and dischar i at a and simultaneously fed at B and is charged at Iror e. In short, in the apparatus shown three series of cans or similar cooks may be fed through the machine and cooked at the same time; or-two series of cans can be simultaneously fed through the machine aml cooked for differ nt lengths" of time; or a single series of cans can be fed through the machine and cc xed tor any one or two or three diti'crentperiods of time. assuming that thc cans are traveling in each instance along the canway the same rate of speed. ()f4course the number of feeds and deliveries may be varied according to the wishes. of the constructor and the size and capacity of the machine desired and the minimum and maximum length of time. of desired cooking operations.

What I claim is:

, 1. In combination a cooking chamber, a spiral pathway therein, a trough in the -hambcr arranged below the upper run of the pathway, a plurality of opcnin 's in said pathway above-"the trough throng any of which packages may bc .'dr0 pedinto the trough,independentmcans or closing or opem-ngeach of sa d openings, and means for fdiscliargingpackages from the said trough 2. In combination a chamber, a spiral pathway tl'tGIt-filhh trough arranged transversely of and'below the. upper run of thepathway, a plurality of openings in said pathway to permit packages to passfrom .the'pathway into the trough at different points, and means for independently closing or opening the said-openings.

3. In com'l'iii'iation a cooking chambcr,.auendless pathway therein. a trough-arranged transvcrselyiof the machine below the runs of the pathway, 0 icnings in said pathway for'pern'ii'ttin v pae ages to drop by gravity from the patiway into the said trough, t0

' way extending outof t vary the iength of travel of the cans in the pathway. a l ngitudinally movable slide for closing each opening, a spring for moving such slide in one direction, and manually operable means for inoving such slide in the opposite direction. 7

4. In combination a cooking chamber, a pathway therein, mshcr barsv for moving packages along sait pathway, a feed chute, a .c

'vibratiug lever beside. the chute having a forked upper end adapted to deliver cans singly from the chute to the pathway, said pusher bars being adapted to move the lever in one direction, and a spring for moving the lever in the. opposite direction.

5. In a machine of thecharactcr described the eon'ibination of a cooking chamber, means for moving packages thcrethrough, a discharge trough extending transversely of and beneath the moving means and adapted to receive packages from said moving means, and means for discharging packages at different points from said moving means into said'trough to vary the length of travel of the packages in said chamber.

6. In combination a cooking chamber, a pathway therein, a trough below said pathway, so ectivc means in the chamber for discharging packages 'at different points from the pathway into said trough, and means for removing packages from said. trough.

7. In combination a cooking chamber, a pathway therein, a tron 11 below the path- 7 he chambena' plurality of selective discharge openings in said pathway at. difl'erent points Within the chamber through which packages may be dropped into the trough, and means for discharging packages from said trough.

8. In combination a chamber, a pathway therein, a trough extending transversely of said pathway and beneath the runs thereof, a plurality of means for discharging plckages from said pathway .into the trough at different points, and-means for ,indcpentL' 'ently controlling the dischar nut "packages i} pass therefrom'lnto said trough; slidesfor closing said openings, and manually operable. means for' moving the slides. I

10. In combination a chamber,- a. pathway having several runsv there'im-a' trough: ex'-' tending transversely beneath thee-runs of said pathway said pathwayhaving openings to permitpabkag'es to pasi'ethcrcfrom into sa id trot-1gb, slides for closinggsaad openings; 1

a h e r m ving said slldeiinone direction, and manually operable means'for mov ing the slide in the opposite d1rect'1on.

11. .In combination a, chamber, a spiral 1" p t way e a fles ex en ga s versely beneath the runs of said pathway, a

plurality of openings in said pathwny to permit. package.- to ass thel'ufrmn into said trough. a slide for c using each 0 )enin and 5 manually operable means for iln epcngently moving the slides.

n testimony that I claim the foregoing a as my own, I affix my signature in presence of t\\-o= \'1' t.,nesses, I

' JOHN s. BAKER. Witnesses H1700 H. .WINTER, ALBERT Gtncsnmn. 

